Disappearance
by priestess-kisa
Summary: Inu-YashaFatal Frame II (crossover)
1. First Step into Darkness

A wet figure approached, coming from the direction of the nearby river. The figure opened her mouth to speak.

"Inu-Yasha?" she said slowly with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "I've decided to go home for a few days. You see, my mom could really use the hel-" She was cut off by a very distinct and very definite "No.", from Inu-Yasha.

"Inu-Yasha! You can't force me to do whatever you want. Besides, my mom really could use my help.

"Oh, and why is that?" He replied sarcastically.

"Because she's thinking of adopting a little girl who is staying with us."

Inu-Yasha's apparent glare grew to a look of slight curiosity. "Oh yeah? How come?"

"Because she's a mother," Kagome said, now sporting a smile. "My mom loves people, especially children. And since I'll only be with her for a few more years, she'll need another girl around the house."

Inu-Yasha looked at her thoughtfully before her earlier statement finally registered. 'I'll only be with her a few more years.'

"What did you mean by: you won't be with your mother for long?"

"That's not what I said."

"Close enough. What did you mean by it?"

"I'm in my first year of highschool right now. After it's over I'll only have three years left. Then I'll move away from home."

"Why?" Inu-Yasha said looking at her intently.

Kagome, feeling uncomfortable under his serious gaze, avoided his eyes. "Because that's what people do. When children grow up, they move away." Kagome was silent after this. Why was there so much tention? Somehow she felt as though she had created it.

"Inu-Ya-"

"You can go."

Kagome was surprised, but she didn't ponder the matter, for she feared Inu-Yasha might withdrawal his decision to let her return home. "Thank you so much!" She sputtered. "I bet mom will thank you too." She shouldered her bulging yellow backpack, as she always did when preparing to leave, and positioned herself to leap into the old well. Before she could, she felt Inu-Yasha's clawed hand grab her arm. As she turned to face him his eyes reflected a seriousness on a level higher than any she had ever seen before.

"Kagome, promise me that you'll come back."

Kagome couldn't help but smile. "Of course I will," she said softly, "I won't ever leave you."

Satisfied that she would return for the moment, Inu-Yasha let go of her arm. As he did he felt lonely. Kagome's words had drilled a whole in his heart, and had earned a permanent place in his memory. The last thing he said to himself before she dropped out of sight was: "She's coming back."

When she finally found herself at the bottom of the well, Kagome felt sad. Sure, she needed to help her mom, but she hadn't wanted to leave Inu-Yasha and the others. She would be gone only a few days though. It wasn't as if she was never going to see them again. Reassuring herself that this was true, Kagome made her way to the top of the well, and out of the well-house.

The sun shone brightly in her face when she emerged. 'It's so much sunnier here than it was there!' She thought to herself. As she continued to head toward the house she spotted a little girl. "Sachi." she called out. The little girl stopped to look at her, then smiled. Sachi's features alighted with joy at the sight of Kagome. She ran to Kagome almost tripping on the little purple skirt she wore.

"Be careful!" Kagome said cheerfully as Sachi hugged her legs. "I don't want you getting hurt." The small girl only looked up at Kagome and nodded. She didn't seem to talk much.

Kagome bent down and patted Sachi's head. "Let's go inside and find a snack." The little girl nodded her head vigorously indicating a yes.

Kagome searched the cupboards endlessly until finally she gave up. Nothing souned right. All of the food in the Higurashi house-hold just did not seem very appetizing at the moment. Her face lit up when an idea struck her. Pulling Sachi along with her, she rushed up the stairs to her bedroom and grabbed a black purse sitting on her desk. She reached her hand in and pulled out a pink change purse. Inside she had crammed forty dollars along with some loose change. 'More than enough!' she thought to herself smiling. "Mom! I'm taking Sachi out for some ice-cream!"

"Alright honey."

Kagome and the little girl rushed to the front door and continued at a quick pace until they reached the shrine entrance. "It feels good, doesn't it?" she said happily. "It's nice to get out of the house every once in a while." Sachi smiled now too. It would seem that even she agreed

The pair made their way down the busy streets turning when the need arose. They came to a stop when an ice-cream vender came into view. 'well I was waiting to get to the shop, but this is right by the park. Much better!' They stopped and gave the vender their order. Two small strawberry ice-cream cones. When they received their food, Kagome ushered Sachi over to a pair of empty swings and the two of them sat down. Each girl munched away happily on their ice-cream silently. Neither said a word until both had fully devoured their welcomed treat. Taking the girls' hand, Kagome led Sachi over to the wooded area of the park. In this place you could take walks through the woods and visit the creek if you wished. Most of the woods would be gone soon because they were damning the river that rested inside. She wanted Sachi to know how beautiful it was before it was gone.

They stepped onto the path and began their way into the woods. The flourishing trees let in the sun, but blotted out it's overpowering sense of light. The ground beneath thier feet was only a dirt path lined with small stones. The path faded away once it reached a small black bench placed there for sitting. The bench was meant for two, so Kagome helped Sachi onto it, and the two of them sat and watched nature thrive around them. There was only movement when Sachi initiated a sharp intake of breath at the sight of a butterfly. The butterfly was red and never seemed to flutter in the same place for long. Sachi watched it with only the slightest hint of mischief in her eyes.

Noting the concentrated look about her, Kagome motioned for Sachi's attention. When the girl did not give a response Kagome looked up to see the butterflies for herself. She had never seen any like them before. Their wings seemed to glitter in the sun, sometimes seeming almost translucent, though they were not. They held onto her attention with such little force that they seemed unreal. They were just little butterflies but their presence was enormous. She tried, uselessly, to pry her eyes from the magnificent insects, but found she couldn't. There was just something about them...

Soon the butterflies began to move away. Quick as a flash, Sachi was running after them. That instant Kagome's trance was broken.

"Sachi! Sachi stop!" Her pleading attempts were in vain. Sachi's little legs were carrying her farther and farther away from her. As what was happening around her finally set in, Kagome took off running as well. Her frantic calls echoed through the woods and down it's path. "Sachi! Sachi!" Sge pleaded with the child as she ran deeper and deeper into the woods.

The sun still hung high in the sky, but what if she could not catch Sachi? It would grow dark and the child would become lost. If this were to happen Kagome would be forced to look for her. There would be no way she could leave her. If she could just simply catch her then none of that would have to happen.

She continued running on, Sachi was just ahead of her, moving as fast as her short little legs would allow. She was still chasing those little butterflies. "Sachi!" Kagome called desperately. 'She's not stopping. She's not even slowing down.' Breathless and quite winded, Kagome continued on. Though she feared she would slow soon before the girl ahead of her.

While running, Kagome passed a stone engraved with two young maidens. She took no notice of the stone, but as soon as she passed it all grew dark. This she did notice. 'What is going on?' She looked frantically ahead of her for Sachi. Nothing. She had stopped running now that it was dark. Instead, she walked cautiously forward. It was hard to see, and she could just barely make out the outlines of the surrounding trees. After she had taken a few steps she saw a lump in the middle of the path. 'Sachi' She ran to the girl's small form.

"Sachi! What happened?" This time the girl actually answered, but it was eerily quiet.

"Kagome," She said softly, "I can't see." With that she threw herself at Kagome. hugging her tightly. She was scared and Kagome could feel it. Her fear played with her mind and pulsed through her veins. She was shaking all over. Bending down to the ground, Kagome gestured for Sachi to get onto her back. She turned to face the way they had come, but it looked different. Maybe they should go the other way. It was possible that they may have somehow gotten turned around. She didn't know where they were, or why it had suddenly got dark, but she had to protect Sachi. The little girl resting on her back was depending on her. She couldn't let her down.


	2. Whisper Bridge

The air around Kagome was filled with any unsettling feeling. It was as if there was no happiness anywhere. Sachi, the little girl resting on her back, shook with fear. There was darkness everywhere they turned. There was no light to speak of. No sun, no moon, nothing to illuminate their way.

Inside her mind, Kagome worked over all of her thoughts trying to determine how she and Sachi had come to be the place that they were. One moment she had been chasing Sachi through the woods under the light of a bright and sparkling sun. Then, suddenly the two of them were engulfed in darkness. There had been no warning, no time to prepare.

Kagome was pulled from her thoughts by a sound from Sachi.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, startled.

"There are lights up there!" The little girl pointed eagerly over a hill looming nearby.

Kagome looked toward the brightness stretching in their direction. It seeped over the hills beckoning her to it. Where there is light, there are people, she thought. There must be.

Repositioning Sachi on her back, Kagome hurriedly set off toward what had instantly turned to her only hope. Maybe there was someone in the woods. Maybe there were other people trapped like them. Maybe...

In less than a few minutes, Kagome and Sachi stood overlooking a village. The village, however, did not look very lively. In fact, it seemed as though it was dead. There was no more light. No people roamed the streets or burned candles in their homes. It was to odd for Kagome's liking. A village with no people to occupy it usually meant trouble. She couldn't remember how many times she and her friends had stumbled upon an abandoned place of some sort and been attacked. But this place, it was different somehow. There could be no demons here. There were not demons in her era, they had all been left in the past. So what was it about this place that seemed so uninviting?

"Sachi," Kagome said softly. "I'm going to set you down now, but stay close to me. I don't want you to get lost."

Once Sachi had nodded her head indicating that she understood, Kagome lowered herself so that the little girl could regain a standing position on the ground next to her.

It seemed strange to Kagome to be in a unknown place without Inu-Yasha. Whenever there was a problem he was always their to beat it down with the Tetsusaiga. It felt almost wrong not to have him around. He could fight away almost anything. If here were here with her, she knew that he would find the way back home.

As soon as they had come, her rush of thoughts containing Inu-Yasha was gone. In it's place was a horrible feeling. A feel of complete and utter terror that spoke volumes to her frightened heart. It told her that things would never be right again, she prayed that that would not wind up being the case.

Too soon for her taste, the two of them began their descent into the village. Dark and savage looking trees loomed on either side of the path that they traveled. Sounds of an unnatural silence filtered through the air and set Kagome on edge. The whispers that echoed around them made her heart beat faster.

Suddenly Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. There, a little way ahead of her and Sachi stood a woman. She didn't look to be very old, but then again, it was hard for Kagome to see her at all.  
"Hey!" Kagome screamed. She ran toward the woman with flailing arms. "Do you live here?"

But there was no reply, it didn't seem that the woman had heard Kagome's calls at all.

"Please, don't go!" Kagome tried again desperately as the woman began to walk away.

Without thinking, Kagome raced toward the woman. When she reached her she placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. The woman whipped around to face her.

Her eyes were cold and unforgiving. Dead.

She reached for Kagome, grabbing her arms and shaking her.

Kagome felt herself scream, but did not hear it. The world, to her, was silent. All concentration focused on the ghastly creature before her frightened eyes.

"Masumi..." The freakish woman muttered as Kagome broke away. "Where did you go?"

Kagome ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her only bit of focus rested on Sachi who was standing in the distance. When she reached her she scooped her up into her arms and took off running, once again, in the direction of the woman. However, the path that she had chosen did not lead them to the horrifying woman, but brought them away from her. A little before they would have come to meet, she turned to her left. The street continued past unsteady looking houses, until it again turned, but this time off to the right.

When at last, she finally stopped, she found herself in front of two large doors. The condition of the wood suggested that they were old, but appeared sturdy. Large walls branched off from either side of the two enormous doors and spread farther than Kagome's eyes could see.

Mustering all the courage that she could manage, Kagome reached for the door and pulled it open. What she saw when the doors creaked open surprised her and set her mind racing back in the direction that they had come. A narrow bridge stretched before her and reached across a wide expanse of dark murky water.

Silently screaming inside, Kagome set Sachi down and grasped her hand firmly with her own. If they were to leave this horrid village they would have to search every inch of it. At some point in time the bridge before the two of them would have to be crossed, but that time was not this time. Without much hope the pair set off in the direction they had come. There were other houses, other doors to try. Nothing would remain unchecked while they were trapped within this horrifying place, nothing.


	3. Missing

Kagome and Sachi stumbled about the village cautiously. Fear played with their minds and tugged at their hearts. There was no end to the uneasy feelings they both had. Nothing could eradicate the feeling of immediate danger that surrounded them and filled the air.

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked down to the little girl who was walking steadily behind her. "What is it, Sachi?"

"I'm hungry...my legs hurt."

"I know." was all she could think to say. She was hungry too, but there was nothing to eat and now was not the time to think of food.

It surprised her how much more talkative Sachi had become since they had found this place. Before, she barely said a world. No sounds ever escaped her lips. Maybe it's because there is nothing but quiet here, kagome thought to herself.

Inu-Yasha sat atop Kaede's old hut. There was nothing but sun, villagers, and noise. The sounds of the living world pounded in his ears playing with the fact that they could hear better than anyone within a hundred miles.

He scanned the horizon line for danger, but wasn't really all that interested in fighting at the moment. He didn't owe humans anything, if something were to happen they could take care of themselves...

"Inu-Yasha!"

"What, you little brat?" Inu-Yasha said knowing full well who the voice belonged to.

"Where's Kagome? You said she'd be back in three days. It's been three days and she's not here. Did you scare her off again?" Shippo gave him a good hard look before hopping up onto Kaede's hut so that he could better examine him.

"No, I didn't scare here away! If anyone could do that it would be you and all of your insistent whining. You're always making her bring stuff back for you. She has a life you know."

"What about your ramen?" Shippo asked knowing all too well that it wasn't a good idea.

"That's different so shut up!"

"How is it different, Inu-Yasha? You won't let Kagome come back with out it."

"It's because she owes me! She broke the jewel and now she has to do whatever I say because it's her fault."

"Really, Inu-Yasha?" Shippo asked curiously. "I thought she only owed you here help. After all, she _is _the only one who can sense jewel shards."

"Shut up! It's none of your business anyway!" Inu-Yasha was on the verge of ripping Shippo in two, but he was trying to contain himself...for some reason.

"Ah, I see that Lady Kagome has not returned." Came Miroku's voice from below.

"Shouldn't she be back by now?" Sango chimed in.

That was the final breaking straw. He was past the point of no return with his frustration.

"Is that all you guys care about! Kagome, Kagome, Kagome! She'll be back when she comes back!" With that Inu-Yasha leapt from the hut's roofs and began stomping off and away from his irritating friends.

"Inu-Yasha!" Miroku called a bit frantically. "Where are you going?"

"To get Kagome! She's been gone way too long! We should be hunting jewel shards now!"

"But you just said-"

"Shut up!"

When Inu-Yasha had vanished from sight the other burst out laughing. It was funny how he could be so easily tricked. It wasn't that they had meant to make him angry. No, he could do that all by himself, but a little push in the right direction never hurt anyone.

As Inu-Yasha made his way toward well, his anger grew. Sharp words raced through his mind. Kagome said she would be back in the morning. It was well into the afternoon now, but still she had not returned. I'm going to drag her back here if it comes to that, he thought. She'll come rather she wants to or not. No more tests, no more baths, no more school, and definitely no more relaxation.

Throwing himself into the well, he continued to fume over Kagome's absence. She was supposed to be with him collecting jewel shards. That's all there was to it.

The well house was dusty on the inside and Inu-Yasha wanted to puke from all the unwanted smells of Kagome's world. He didn't understand how she could possibly live in such a place as she did. There was nothing good about it, except the ramen...and the chips. Otherwise there were too many humans. Too many people crammed together, and too many disgusting smells.

He rushed to Kagome's bed room window. He entered through her open window as he always seemed able to do. It like it was open in case he came back for her, only for him.

"Stupid girl. You're going to get yourself killed, then what would I do."

Finding that she was occupying her room, which he had been sure she would be, he opened her door and proceeded downstairs. Instantly his nostrils were invaded with the smell of something delicious cooking. He made his way to the dinning room. When he slammed open the door it revealed Kagome's family. Her mother was just bringing in what looked to be the last dish of a meal. Though the food smelled incredibly well made, no one seemed to be eating. Kagome's family just sat around staring at the table. Mrs. Higurashi's eyes widened when they fell on Inu-Yasha.

"Where's Kagome?" He blurted out hastily. He had scanned the room over and over, but she wasn't there. He assumed she would be with her family. After all, that was almost always the excuse she used to get him to allow her to return home. So, where was she now?

"So she's not with you then? I had hoped..." Kagome's mother said solemnly, as if she had let go of the most important dream in all of her life.

"Where is she?" He questioned again. He was becoming irritated.

"We don't know." Her mother answered softly. "Three days ago she left to get some ice cream, she never came back."

"What?" Inu-Yasha's eyes widened in shock. _she's not here_.

"She's missing, Inu-Yasha."


	4. Broken Neck

"Missing?" Inu-Yasha tested the word with care. He had never expected that word to be used in the same sentence as Kagome. Sure, she'd been kidnapped before, but at least then he had an idea of where she was...and who to kill. Now what was he supposed to do. With one single word his entire world had stopped spinning. If Kagome was gone what would he do? She was the only one who could see the shards and he fought better when she was with him.

"Inu-Yasha..." Kagome's mother broke into his thoughts. "Can you find her with that nose of hers?"

Inu-Yasha gave Mrs. Higurashi a look wich conveyed his most current emotion; annoyance.

"Of course I can find Kagome. Don't worry about it." Though his words were characteristically cocky, his mind had been thrown into an unescapable turmoil. Finding Kagome would not be as easy as was leading her family to believe. If she had been missing for three days her scent would be gone, earased by the thoughtless others who trampled it. What would be left for him to search for.

"Please, Inu-Yasha, find my sister." Sota gazed up at his hero with as much hope as his young eyes could hold. "She may be stupid, and act like an idiot sometimes, but she's supposed to be here."

Inu-Yasha simply nodded. He and Sota a created a sort of "man to man" understanding. Sota never told Kagome when Inu-Yasha came looking for her, and Inu-Yasha let the kid call him his hero. Those were the rules, and that was how it would be. However, what Sota was asking of him now was a promise that he himself was not entirely sure he could keep. There was no doubt in his mind that he would find Kagome, only little what-ifs that fed on his confidence.

"I'll bring her back."

It had been a long time since Kagome and Sachi had run into the mysterious woman. The thought of her made Kagome shiver and gain goosebumps along her arms. It was odd how the woman had seemed so crazy, Kagome thought. It was like there was nothing else in the world except for Masumi...whoever that was.

There had been pain in that womans' eyes. Her mind had not been altogether, Kagome was sure of that. It was as if she was looking for someone, but having found Kagome instead she decided to kill her.

Kagome was pulled from her rumination at the pressure of a hand tightly gripping hers. The hand, Kagome new, belonged to the little girl, Sachi.

Bending low so that she could be almost eye level with the small child, Kagome posed her question. "What's wrong, Sachi." In return, all she recieved was a scream from the girl. Not understanding what was wrong, she continued to look Sachi in the eye. If something had frightened her she needed to know what it was.

Too late.

The presence of a hand on her shoulder alerted her that she and Sachi were not alone. Slowly she turned around and felt the hand slip from her shoulder silently. Along pause followed as Kagome gazed into the eyes of what she could only describe as a ghost. A woman in a light colored Yukata stood there looking at her. Everything about her seemed normal until Kagome realized with sickening awareness that the womans' neck was broken. It didn't seem to troubel the ghosyly appariton in the least, though, for as soon as Kagome's fearful eyes had wandered to her neck she once again exteneded her arm to grab Kagome's shoulder. That was when she screamed.

A sound of one like no other peirced the air. This woman was indredibly different than the one she had met earlier. There were no words escaping her lips, no withered and angry pleas for the return of a missing person. Nothing. This woman, ghastly and horrifiying was surly dead, but at the same time still terrifyingly alive.

Wretching herself from the ghost woman's grasp, she grabbed Sachin up in her arms and ran, just as she had before. But this time, instead of fleeing past house after house, she made her way toward the earily silent structures. There was one at the beginnig of the village that stuck into her memory. It was rather large, and had been near to where she and Sachi had ran into the first woman...the woman Kagome had now decided must be a ghost as well.

When the house was in her sights, Kagome spead up in a mad dash of strength, fear, and agility. When she came to it, Kagome almost ripped the door from it's hinges. There, once inside, she found herself in a small and short walkway that lead to another dark, wooden door. She opened it hastily and stepped into the front room of the house. It did not appear that the woman with the broken neck had chased them so Kagome slowed to a dull walking pace and concentrated hard on her new surroundings. There was dark hallway straight ahead of her, a sunken fireplace, and what appeared to be a door off to the left. It seemed best to Kagome to explore the very path in front of her, so that is what she did. With slowed footsteps she began walking down the long narrow hall.

The walls surrounding them were old and untouched. The entire viilage looked as though no one had been near it in a very long time, and this house was no exception. From the ceiling hung clothes flaps that brushed Kagome's head as she walked under them. They were old and torn, shredded at the ends. At some point along the hallway was a break. To the right were a set of stairs, to the left an extremely short hallway that was home to a single door.

Which way would they go? The stairs would only lead them farther away from the safety of the ground, but that didn't neccesarily mean that they shouldn't be checked. The door, on the other hand would lead them deeper into the house without a clear way out. In the kaoss of the fear something so simple as a door could seem a mointain too hight to climb. In a split second everything could fail and her life could end; all because of a door that she could not manage to open in time. Either choice meant danger. That thought clearly played before Kagome's eyes.

The door...

The door..

The door.

The door!


	5. Time of Fear

The air was thick with human smells and distractions. All traces of Kagome's scent had vanished into the world without any trail leading to where it had gone. No street, no store, no building, contained even the slightest whiff of Kagome.

"Damn it!" Inu-Yasha's anger was rising. "Where could she have gone!"

He had come to an area where countless children played. Across the street from him was an ice-cream stand where a number of parents stood waiting in a long line the stretched and seemed to go one forever. As he watched, some of the people left the line to wander over to the park behind him and scoop up their disappointed children. It never occurred to Inu-Yasha that Kagome might have been in a place like this. Her mother had said she had gone to get "ice-cream", but he didn't quite understand what that meant. All around him were children and parents who looked all too eager to leave the heat of the park and find shade in the comfort of their air-conditioned homes.

After standing for what seemed like hours the wind picked up and contented sighs filled the heat scorched park. Simultaneously Inu-Yasha was struck with Kagome's scent. It was faint, but strong enough for him to follow. His hopes renewed, Inu-Yasha took off into the park. All around him people threw him curious glances, but other than that no one seemed to mind his haori, or long silver hair.

His feet slammed onto the innocent ground mercilessly; leaving no trace behind them. It seemed to him a miracle, though he would never admit it, that Kagome's scemt had found it's way to him. After three days it seemed likely to him that it would have been stamped out completely. It would seem that sometimes it paid to be wrong.

"Sachi!"

"I'm right here."

"Thank goodness. I thought something had happened to you."

"Did you find the light, Kagome?"

"No, not since I tripped and dropped it. Where did you find it anyway?"

"I don't know."  
"Well stay close until I find it, OK? I don't want you to get lost."

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, now take my hand."

Kagome felt Sachi's small hand feel its way into hers. The room they were in was completely dark. There were no windows, even. Sachi, by way of a miracle, had some how managed to find a flashlight. Not so miraculous was how Kagome had released her hold on it when she had blindly stumbled into a box upon entering the room.

"Kagome?" Sachi's small voice came in a whisper.

"What is it?"

"I think I found the flashlight. It's right in front of you."

Now she really felt dumb.

Kagome quickly picked up the flashlight and turned it on. That light that flooded the room revealed little to her hopeful eyes. There were odds and ends scattered all about the floor. Books lined a tall bookshelf some feet away, and there was a table off to the side. Kagome headed toward the table. She could see some old papers and what looked like a notebook laying on it. Carefully, she picked up the notebook and flipped it open.

**Woman's Notebook 1**  
_Description: Notebook of a lost woman. Contains village rumors._  
----------------------  
I've heard rumors about the lost village before. Long ago, a massacre occurred on the day of a ceremony, and the village was wiped from the map. Twin Deities Statues in the forest lead lost people to the village entrance. Once you passed the gate however, you cannot go back.

The village eternally relives that night of death. The insane laughter of a woman is said to echo throughout the village. The only survivor of the massacre at the village was a lone woman.

Kagome shuddered at the last few words. One woman? If she and Sachi were indeed in the "Lost Village", was it truly a realistic belief to have that they would be free of it.

THUMP!

As the sound reached her ears, she whipped around to face the sliding door through which she and Sachi had entered the room. Her gaze, as much as she hoped that it would, did not penetrate the wood of the doors to see beyond them. She looked about frantically for some sort of weapon. There were no swords, bows, or any kind of sharp object with which she could defend herself with. As her eyes scanned the room, they feel on an old, antique looking camera. What can a camera do, she asked herself?

"Maybe I could blind them." Kagome muttered solemnly.

With a sudden crash, the sliding door burst open. Fueled by her fear, Kagome pulled the camera to her face and clicked the button on it's top. A bright flash filled the room.

"Damn it!"


	6. Ghost Picture?

"I'm sorry! I thought you were a ghost!"

"Why the hell would you think that!"

"Didn't you see them?"

"See what?"

"Those women! They were...dead."

"You're afraid of dead women?"

"No! They attacked us."

Sachi clutched Kagome's hand tightly. Her large eyes stared up questioningly at Inu-Yasha.

"Let's go." Inu-Yasha said sharply.

Kagome didn't move.

"Come on! Let's go!" Without warning, Inu-Yasha reached forward and grabbed one of Kagome's hands in his own. He pulled her in the direction of the door that he had so carelessly smashed and broken.

Though her feet had flown from their place on the wood of the floor, her mind stayed firmly planted within the room. Something just didn't seem right. Her senses were flooded with odd feelings. She was afraid. The entire village scared her. She never wanted to see another corner of it, but there was another part of her...a part that did. The notebook she had found had said that the village relived a day of terror over and over again. Could it be possible that there was any way she could help put it's spirits to rest?

"Kagome!"

Kagome's head snapped up to look at Inu-Yasha.

"Let's go! What's wrong with you? You're the one who's so scared."

"Inu-Yasha," She began slowly.

"What?"

His eyes pierced into her mind. It was as if without knowing he knew what she wanted to do, he was saying no. His glance held a stern quality that she had come to be very familiar with, but more often than not, paid very little attention to.

"Never mind."

Blindly, she let Inu-Yasha lead her from the darkness of the house into the open darkness of the village. Beside her, Sachi carried the camera she had found. The small group passed through the village and stepped into the surrounding forest in silence. Kagome, as before, let Inu-Yasha lead her without any complaints along the darkened forest path. As she remembered, there was absolutely no light. There was no sunlight shinging through the tree as she secretly hoped there would be. The terrifying darkness of the village's fate extended here too.

On and on they pressed against the dark, fighting to see the light. But there was none.

Soon, the village came into sight beyond the towering trees. Not once had they looked back.

"Damn it! It doesn't make any sense."

"A curse..." Kagome mumbled. Inu-Yasha turned to look sharply at her.

"What?"

"Those who stumble upon this village are doomed to wander it."

"What do you mean?" Came Inu-Yasha's voice again. It made no sense to him what she said.

"This village," She paused, looking into Inu-Yasha's stern glare. "Relives a night of eternal disaster. Those who wander into this place can't leave."

"Well we're getting outta here." He didn't seem phased by Kagome's explanation. He was determined to see light again. He wouldn't _let_ them fall victim to a simple village.

"Inu-Yasha, if there's any chance of us leaving here...it's in there." She raised a finger to point in the direction of the village. "Why would there be only one way out?"

He looked at her as if to seriously consider her words.

"Fine. Go back in there and waste your time."

Since it seemed that Inu-Yasha was noncompliant to go with her, she shrugged off his answer as if it didn't matter. "I Will." Without giving Inu-Yasha so much as a look, she marched right past him in the direction of the village.

Inu-Yasha didn't believe her. He knew her. There was no way she could stand to be in that old creepy village two minutes without him. She would come back.

When she didn't return, his senses heightened to a level of great awareness. He couldn't protect Kagome when she wasn't with him, therefore she was in danger.

I Know this chapter is really, REALLY short and not well written, but I had to cut if off her so that I can fit the things I need to all in the next chapter. I love you people...or person. Considering that Tetsuni is the only one that ever reviews I have come to the conclusion that: A- She/He is the only one who reads my story, or B- No one else likes my story. Neither one of the two are especially promising, but I guess I should at least be thankful that SOMEONE is reading my story.


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